THE DEADLIEST FIRE IN HISTORY (2 OF 4)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: Luke 16:19-31
This content is part of a series.
The Deadliest Fire In History (2 of 4)
Series: When We All Get To Heaven
Jeff Strite
Luke 16:19-31
Does anyone know what the worst fire in American History was? Most people would say it was the great Chicago Fire in 1871. That fire started on Sunday, October 8 and ended on Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing up to 300 people and destroyed a little over 3 square miles of Chicago, leaving over 100,000 people homeless.
But the great Chicago fire wasn't the worst fire in American history. In fact, it wasn't even the worst fire in 1871. The very same day the Chicago fire began... so did the one that destroyed Peshtigo, Wisconsin (about 48 miles north of Green Bay). Historians list this as THE deadliest fire in U.S. history. On October 8th (the same day the Chicago fire began) a drought in the lumber area of Peshtigo led to a fire that destroyed nearly 1900 sq. miles of small cities and homes in the area of Peshtigo (as opposed to the 3.3 square miles in Chicago) and killed nearly 2000 people (compared to 300 in Chicago).
The fire was so intense that when people tried to flee... there was no place to go. People died in their homes, and their basements and on the streets. Some folks jumped into a well, but the fire sucked all the oxygen away and they died of suffocation. Others tried to cross the river to the other side only to find the fire there as well.
The few that survived jumped into the river, and had to constantly douse themselves with water to avoid their hair catching on fire. The temperatures that day were estimated to be between 500 and 700 F. The destruction was so total there was virtually nothing left of the city.
It took days for word of the Peshtigo fire to reach the nation. When news finally reached the capital of Wisconsin, all the state's officials were in Chicago, helping with relief efforts there. For weeks, the Chicago Fire so dominated newspaper headlines that the governor of Wisconsin had to issue a special proclamation to diver ...
Series: When We All Get To Heaven
Jeff Strite
Luke 16:19-31
Does anyone know what the worst fire in American History was? Most people would say it was the great Chicago Fire in 1871. That fire started on Sunday, October 8 and ended on Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing up to 300 people and destroyed a little over 3 square miles of Chicago, leaving over 100,000 people homeless.
But the great Chicago fire wasn't the worst fire in American history. In fact, it wasn't even the worst fire in 1871. The very same day the Chicago fire began... so did the one that destroyed Peshtigo, Wisconsin (about 48 miles north of Green Bay). Historians list this as THE deadliest fire in U.S. history. On October 8th (the same day the Chicago fire began) a drought in the lumber area of Peshtigo led to a fire that destroyed nearly 1900 sq. miles of small cities and homes in the area of Peshtigo (as opposed to the 3.3 square miles in Chicago) and killed nearly 2000 people (compared to 300 in Chicago).
The fire was so intense that when people tried to flee... there was no place to go. People died in their homes, and their basements and on the streets. Some folks jumped into a well, but the fire sucked all the oxygen away and they died of suffocation. Others tried to cross the river to the other side only to find the fire there as well.
The few that survived jumped into the river, and had to constantly douse themselves with water to avoid their hair catching on fire. The temperatures that day were estimated to be between 500 and 700 F. The destruction was so total there was virtually nothing left of the city.
It took days for word of the Peshtigo fire to reach the nation. When news finally reached the capital of Wisconsin, all the state's officials were in Chicago, helping with relief efforts there. For weeks, the Chicago Fire so dominated newspaper headlines that the governor of Wisconsin had to issue a special proclamation to diver ...
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